SETTLEMENT OF SANTA MARÍA DE LA ANTIGUA DEL DARIEN.
1510-1511.
FRANCISCO PIZARRO ABANDONS SAN SEBASTIAN—MEETS ENCISO AT
CARTAGENA—HE AND HIS CREW LOOK LIKE PIRATES—THEY ARE TAKEN
BACK TO SAN SEBASTIAN—VASCO NUÑEZ DE BALBOA—BOARDS ENCISO'S
SHIP IN A CASK—ARRIVES AT SAN SEBASTIAN—THE SPANIARDS CROSS
TO DARIEN—THE RIVER AND THE NAME—CEMACO, CACIQUE OF DARIEN,
DEFEATED—FOUNDING OF THE METROPOLITAN CITY—PRESTO, CHANGE!
THE HOMBRE DEL CASCO UP, THE BACHILLER DOWN—VASCO NUÑEZ,
ALCALDE—NATURE OF THE OFFICE—REGIDOR—COLMENARES, IN SEARCH
OF NICUESA, ARRIVES AT ANTIGUA—HE FINDS HIM IN A PITIABLE
PLIGHT—ANTIGUA MAKES OVERTURES TO NICUESA—THEN REJECTS HIM—AND
FINALLY DRIVES HIM FORTH TO DIE—SAD END OF NICUESA.
When Alonso de Ojeda left San Sebastian for Española, he stipulated
with Francisco Pizarro, who for the time was commissioned governor,
that should neither he himself return, nor the bachiller Enciso arrive
within fifty days, the colonists might abandon the post and seek safety
or adventure in other parts.
And now the fifty days had passed; wearily and hungrily they had come
and gone, with misery an ever present guest; and no one having come,
they dismantled the fortress, placed on board the two small brigantines
left them the gold they had secured—trust Francisco Pizarro for scenting
gold, and getting it—and made ready to embark for Santo Domingo. But
though only seventy remained, the vessels could not carry them all; and
it was agreed that they should wait awhile, until death reduced their
number to the capacity of the boats.
Nor had they long to wait; nor would their grim attendant let them put
to sea without him. He had been so long domiciled with them, and had
become so useful in settling disputes, adjusting accounts, and the like,
that he was one of them, and one, indeed, with all the companies which
attempted colonization on these pestilential shores. As they coasted
eastward in search of food before steering across for Española, a squall
struck the vessels, overturning one of them and sending all on board
to swift destruction. Entering with the other the harbor of Cartagena,
Pizarro found there the tardy Enciso hunting his colony.
Now the bachiller, beside possessing great learning, was a man of
experience, all the way from Spain; a man of keen intelligence and
practical sagacity, his wits sharpened by the narrow-minded legal
bigotry of a sixteenth-century Spanish lawyer. He must be of exceedingly
ready wit who could deceive the bachiller. It was scarcely to be
expected a man of his kidney should credit the stories of Ojeda's
visit to Santo Domingo, of the deputy governorship, and of the late
disaster; though honest Pizarro on this occasion told only the truth,
and his companions vouched for it with all the feeble force of their
high-keyed husky voices. If Ojeda had gone to Santo Domingo more than
fifty or seventy days before, would not the bachiller have seen him
there? Indeed, to a less erudite judge than Enciso, a band of robbers
on the high seas, with an abundance of gold and no bread, would call up
suspicions rather of foul play than honest adventure. And back they must
go. The functions of high judge should begin here and now. Was not this
Nueva Andalucía? With the horrors of San Sebastian still fresh in their
minds, the thought of returning there was repugnant in the extreme,
and the poor wretches begged the lawyer to let them go to Española,
or join Nicuesa. No. Enciso had staked his whole earthly possessions
on the delightful prospect of domination, and these should not escape
him. They were just the clay for his fashioning; men for whom the law
was made. Whipping out his commission, which at once deposed Pizarro,
the bachiller drove them back into their boat, and all embarked for San
Sebastian. But scarcely had they turned the Punta de Caribana,[VII-1]
when the bachiller's well-stored ship struck upon rocks and broke in
pieces, those on board barely escaping with their lives. Thus the worthy
bachiller was beggared; the savings from life-long pettifoggings were
swept away within the hour. Still his original stock in trade, egotism
and arrogance, was left unimpaired.
[Illustration: NUEVA ANDALUCÍA]
[Sidenote: ADMINISTRATION OF ENCISO.]
Making their way along the shore to San Sebastian, the Spaniards found
their fort demolished and their houses, some thirty in number, burned.
In a feeble way they began to forage again, but even Enciso saw that
it was useless. The absence of food, the poisoned arrows, and the
poisoned air were too much for the bravest long to contend with. "Let
us leave this accursed spot," they all cried. "Whither would you go?"
demanded the lawyer. One of them said:—"Once when I coasted this gulf
with Rodrigo de Bastidas, along the western shore we found the country
fertile and rich in gold. Provisions were abundant; and the natives,
though warlike, used no poisoned arrows. Through this land of which I
speak flows a river called by the natives Darien."
[Sidenote: VASCO NUÑEZ DE BALBOA.]
All eyes were turned upon the speaker. It was the _hombre del casco_,
Vasco Nuñez de Balboa, a fine specimen of the Spanish cavalier, at that
time about thirty-five years of age. He was taller than Ojeda, though
perhaps not stronger; there was not about him the assurance of breeding
and position that Nicuesa bore; nor were there present in his features
those marks of greed and brutality plainly discernible in the face
of Francisco Pizarro, who stood not far from him. Strong and comely
in every part, apparently, of body and mind, one to be observed with
intuitive respect in a society of this kind, one to be approached with
ease, but with due care; frank and manly, with a firm and winning eye
and manner, yet there was about him noticeable something between shyness
and reticence. Indeed, the standing of this person, since his sudden
and altogether informal appearing as one of the present company had been
somewhat dubious, and he seemed to regard it good taste to hold himself
rather in the background. For all this there was that innate superiority
about him over every one present, not excepting the erudite judge or
the subsequently cunning conqueror of Peru, that could not always remain
concealed, particularly amid constantly recurring vital issues.
Of the invariable poor but noble family, a native of Jerez de
los Caballeros, Vasco Nuñez was reared in the service of Pedro
Puertocarrero, the deaf lord of Moguer. Drawn with the crowd to the
New World, upon the abrupt termination of the voyage of Bastidas, he
obtained a repartimiento of Indians, and applied himself to agriculture
at Salvatierra, a town of Española. Becoming embarrassed by debts,
and disgusted with the plodding life of a farmer, he determined to
try fortune in the new colony of Alonso de Ojeda. But how to escape
his creditors was the question. Debtors were prohibited by edict from
leaving the island. The town of Santo Domingo at this time swarmed
with insolvent adventurers anxious to engage in new adventure, and the
strictest watch was kept on them by the authorities. An armed escort
accompanied every departure until well out at sea, to bring back
discovered stowaways. For all this Vasco Nuñez determined to sail with
Enciso. Now mark the budding of genius! Taking a large cask, such as
was used in shipping stores, he ensconced himself therein, and caused
it to be headed up, placed upon a wagon, and driven from his farm to the
landing, where it was placed with the other stores, and finally carried
on board the ship. The vessel put to sea; the tender returned to port;
to the creditors was left the farm of Vasco Nuñez, while the late owner
was forever safe beyond their reach.[VII-2]
When, like Aphrodite from her circling shell, the serio-comic face
of the bankrupt farmer appeared emerging from the provision cask, the
bachiller was disposed to treat the matter magisterially, and threatened
to land the refugee from justice on the first deserted island. But as
the learned judge could not be held accountable as a party to the fraud,
and as he thereby gained a valuable recruit, his judicial sensitiveness
was finally mollified, and he assigned to the stowaway the ordinary
duties of a soldier. Nevertheless the mildly murderous threat of the
lawyer was not lost upon the farmer.
Into the hearts of the desponding colonists at San Sebastian the words
of Vasco Nuñez infused new life. No time was lost in making ready; and
crossing the gulf, they found the country and river as he had said. Near
this river of Darien,[VII-3] for so the Atrato and country thereabout
was then called, stood the village of the cacique, Cemaco, a brave and
upright ruler.
[Sidenote: BATTLE OF ANTIGUA.]
Enciso, who is no less valiant than wise and conscientious, determines
to make this place judicially his own. Cemaco, who believes himself the
legal owner, objects. Whereupon is invoked that admirable provision,
the ultimate appeal; and the man of the long robe and the man of no
robe at all, each after his fashion, prepare for war. Sending his women
and children up the river, Cemaco posts himself with five hundred
warriors before the village. Enciso, in whose person are united the
combined essences of Christendom, civil, ecclesiastical, and military,
concentrates all his forces, human and divine, to hurl upon the
presumptuous savage. First, as is his wont in legal battles, to every
soldier he administers the oath that he will not flinch before the
enemy; then he invokes the powers above to aid him in the approaching
contest, vowing that if victory shall be his and the town shall fall
into his hands he will name it in honor of the virgin and build and
dedicate a church within the town in honor of her sacred image, Antigua
of Seville. Moreover, he promises that he will make a pilgrimage to
her holy shrine if she will give him the victory over Cemaco; and with
these preparations the battle begins. The half-starved Spaniards fight
like fiends. Cemaco for a time maintains his position with firmness;
but the awe-inspiring appearance of the strangers, their ship, their
shining armor, their beards, the whiteness of their skin, the wonderful
sharpness of their weapons, and the solemn thunder and smoke of their
fire-arms soon scatter to the forest his terror-smitten people. To
the unbounded joy of the conquerors the town is found rich in gold and
cotton, and the adjacent fields afford abundance of provisions.
This is something like reward for toilsome missionary labors. Along the
river banks, secreted in caves, are found golden ornaments to the value
of ten thousand castellanos.[VII-4] The virgin's share and the king's
share are set aside, and the remainder of the spoils divided among the
band. Thus Cemaco's village becomes the seat of government in Tierra
Firme; and to it, as the lawyer promised the virgin, is given the name
of Santa María de la Antigua del Darien.[VII-5]
In good truth fortune had at length smiled upon the colonists. Captives
taken in the skirmishes which followed the pitched battle were made
to gather gold and work in the fields. The bachiller began a rigorous
rule with a full sense of the responsibilities resting upon him as
representative of the crown of Spain and of his own importance before
his soldiers, and as a hero in the great work of pacification. This
view of his own merits appeared to him by no means diminished after his
recent success. Though small in number, this colony should be mighty
in law. Poor Ojeda! How happy he might have been in the position now
occupied by this mummified bundle of quiddities.
Settling themselves in Cemaco's houses, the Spaniards began to look
about. First in order after his lawless raid, in the eyes of Enciso,
was law. The bachiller, as we have ere this surmised, was one of
those super-wise and self-opinioned men who to achieve a fall have
only to attain a height. Very little law was here needed, very little
government; but Enciso was a lawyer and a ruler, and little of it would
not suffice him. His first edict was the prohibition of private traffic
with the natives. This measure, though strictly legal, could scarcely be
called politic. The hundred or so ragged piratical wretches cast on this
rich and feebly defended shore wanted few decrees; and the fewer laws
their ruler made for them the fewer would be broken. But, necessary or
not, the alcalde mayor must issue orders, else he is no alcalde mayor.
Hence other regulations followed, equally unpopular, until the colonists
began to consider how best they might make a plug which should stop this
great running to waste of law. Though convinced that Enciso was planning
to get the gold as well as the government all into his own hands, and
employ the colonists as tools wherewith to mine, and hold the savages
in check, so inbred is Spanish loyalty, that even the reckless members
of this crude commonwealth hesitated before committing any overt act
which might forever outlaw them from their country. Better employ his
own weapon against the bachiller, for law is safer than hemp for hanging
even lawyers.
[Sidenote: VASCO NUÑEZ ASSUMES COMMAND.]
There was about Vasco Nuñez a plain directness of thought and purpose
the very opposite of those engendered of the law's entanglements. Ever
since his fortunate suggestion to cross from San Sebastian to Darien
he had been regarded as the savior of the colony; and now he thought
he saw open a way of deliverance from their present trouble, and so he
told them. "The gulf of Urabá," said he, "separates Nueva Andalucía
from Castilla del Oro. While on the eastern side we belonged to the
government of Alonso de Ojeda; now that we are on the western, we
are subject only to Diego de Nicuesa." Before this simple logic the
bachiller was dumfoundered. Of what value was legal lore that could
be so easily overturned by an illiterate adventurer? In vain he feebly
argued that wherever was Ojeda's colony, Ojeda's deputy was master. The
people were against him; and the opinion of the people concerning him
was expressed by Vasco Nuñez when some time afterward he wrote the king
regarding persons of that cloth in infant settlements: "Most powerful
sire," he said, "there is one great favor that I pray your royal
highness to do me, since it is of great importance to your service. It
is for your royal highness to issue an order that no bachiller of laws,
or of anything unless it be of medicine, shall come to these parts
of Tierra Firme, under a heavy penalty that your highness shall fix;
because no bachiller ever comes hither who is not a devil, and they all
live like devils, and not only are they themselves bad, but they make
others bad, having always contrivances to bring about litigations and
villainies. This is very important to your highness' service in this a
new country."[VII-6]
So the lawyer was deposed, and the cavalier elevated. Enciso gracelessly
yielded his clear authority; and after much wrangling among the
ill-assorted fraternity, a municipality was decided upon, and two
alcaldes[VII-7] were chosen, Vasco Nuñez de Balboa and Martin Zamudio.
The office of regidor[VII-8] fell among others to one Valdivia.
Subsequently additional officials were chosen.
Government without law, however, proved no less ineffectual than law
without government. Disaffections and altercations continued. In the
administration of justice, Balboa was accused of favoring his friends
and frowning upon his enemies. Some repented having crossed the gulf;
some desired the restoration of Enciso; some suggested that as they were
now within the jurisdiction of Nicuesa, it was his right to rule, or to
name their ruler.
[Sidenote: COLMENARES COMES.]
While these strifes were raging, the inhabitants of Antigua were
startled one day by the report of a gun coming from the direction of
San Sebastian. Thinking perhaps Ojeda had returned, or sent supplies,
they built fires on the adjacent heights in order to attract attention.
Presently two ships approached, and anchored before the town. They
proved to be vessels belonging to Nicuesa, freighted at Española with
supplies for the colony of Castilla del Oro, and commanded by Rodrigo
Enriquez de Colmenares. Thrown by stress of weather upon the coast of
Santa Marta,[VII-9] he had there lost a number of his men; after which
he entered the gulf of Urabá, hoping to find information of Nicuesa.
A quick observer and a faithful officer, Colmenares soon understood
the position of affairs, and took prompt measures to secure to his
governor such advantages as might accrue from profitless contentions. By
a judicious distribution of articles greatly needed by the colonists,
attended by wise counsels, he gained their confidence, and partly
healed their feuds; so that before sailing he prevailed on them to send
two ambassadors to treat with Nicuesa concerning the affairs of their
settlement. The two envoys chosen were Diego de Albites, and an aspiring
lawyer, hitherto overshadowed by the august presence of Enciso, called
the bachiller Diego del Corral, and they were directed to accompany the
ships of Colmenares in the brigantine belonging to the settlement of
Antigua.
It was about the middle of November, 1510, when Colmenares entered the
gulf of Urabá. Unable to gather any tidings of Nicuesa, he continued
his voyage westward, searching the inlets along the coast. He would
nevertheless have passed Nombre de Dios had he not seen some of
Nicuesa's men in their boat, at one of the islands, seeking food. The
wildest joy greeted the new arrival. It was to the colony of Castilla
del Oro as a reprieve from death. Gazing sadly on the sallow faces
and emaciated forms before them, the miserable wreck of Nicuesa's
gallant company now reduced to sixty souls, listening to their tales
of wretchedness, tears of honest sympathy fell from the eyes of the
hardy sailors. With difficulty could be recognized in the leader of
the hapless troop the once gay and courtly Nicuesa. Colmenares gave
the sufferers food and comforted them. He told Nicuesa of Ojeda's
failure, of the settlement at Antigua, and how Enciso and his company,
having found a spot rich in gold and well provisioned, had fallen to
quarrelling among themselves about the government, and had finally
sent messengers to him, the rightful ruler, for the healing of their
disputes.
To Nicuesa these words were as fresh oil in an expiring lamp. But in
his enfeebled state, the sudden change from blank despair to brilliant
hope played havoc with his discretion. After brief thanksgiving for
deliverance, his mind became excited by dreams of boundless wealth and
empire. He ordered a feast, at which he presided with insensate levity.
Toward the ambassadors from the gulf he assumed a haughty arrogance,
claiming supreme authority relative to all matters at Antigua, and
stoutly swearing that the gold taken from his subjects of Darien should
be disgorged.
Colmenares had marked the effect of Nicuesa's altered temper on his
followers. He saw that disaffection was rife, and that the governor held
control by a feeble thread. Showing Nicuesa the madness of his course,
he explained the importance of attaching the remnant of Ojeda's colony
to his own, and pointed out their strength and his weakness; he received
in reply only insolent rebukes.
Meanwhile the ambassadors Albites and Corral, men whose wits were about
them, were not pleased with this foretaste of Nicuesa's rule; nor did
intercourse with Nicuesa's men tend in any wise to diminish their
unfavorable impressions. One night they visited Lope de Olano, who
for his sins was chained to a rock and made to grind corn. "Behold my
condition," he exclaimed. "I have ever served my governor faithfully. I
saved him from perishing, when I had but to delay his rescue to become
myself the governor. This is my reward. You men of Antigua may draw
your own conclusions." By others the ambassadors were informed that
the chief officers of the new government were already selected: Vasco
Nuñez was to be stripped of all authority, and Zamudio, as a relative
of Olano, could scarcely hope to fare better. Those who had trafficked
with the natives were to be severely punished. It was enough. Stealing
away, they hastened back to Antigua. "A pretty mess you have made of it,
with your infernal bickerings," they said to the assembled confederates.
"Nicuesa will give you more of law than Enciso, and more of arbitrary
rule than Vasco Nuñez and Zamudio ten times over." A few days after
a messenger, one Juan de Caicedo, arrived from Nicuesa, and informed
them, for their further comfort, that the governor was detained at
one of the islands capturing natives, but would be with them shortly.
Perceiving that his tidings were not hailed with transports of joy, and
being himself embittered against Nicuesa, as were indeed almost all his
followers, Caicedo swung round upon his bearings and laughed at them.
"Silly señores! free and rich, you call in a cormorant to swallow your
substance and yourselves." And now, as usual when folly comes home,
curses flowed freely on themselves and others. The prospect of losing
their gold touched them. What should they do?
Once more Vasco Nuñez offers a pertinent suggestion. "You were
dissatisfied with Enciso, and questioned many of my acts. Now you fear
a governor possessing all the bad qualities of your former rulers,
with, perhaps, few of their redeeming traits. If calling Nicuesa was an
error, is not receiving him a greater one?" Struck by the suggestion,
the colonists drop their differences and unite as one man against
Nicuesa, each taking a solemn oath never to serve under him. Sentries
are then stationed to give notice of his approach, and measures taken
to prevent his landing. After eight days pleasantly passed kidnapping
among the islands, the ill-fated governor enters the harbor and comes
to anchor, little dreaming of the reception that awaits him. On shore
before the town he observes a company of armed men, assembled, as he
supposes, to give him welcome. As he prepares to disembark, the public
procurator[VII-10] advances and, to his astonishment, in a loud voice
warns him on pain of death not to place foot on shore, but instantly to
abandon these parts and return no more.
The colony at Antigua was at this time comparatively strong and
well-conditioned; Nicuesa's followers were few, weak, and disaffected.
For him to enforce authority was not possible. His mind had dwelt
fondly of late on his rising fortunes, and this hostile reception was a
terrible disappointment, for it was the last earthly resource. To return
to the broken camp at Nombre de Dios would be to enter again the jaws
of death; if he could not remain here, he certainly could not depart.
[Sidenote: ILL-TREATMENT OF NICUESA.]
Recovering in a measure, as from a heavy blow, the governor requested
permission to land, promising solemnly to enter into any stipulations
concerning the government which the colonists should deem just. His
proposals were drowned by the shouts of the rabble; and he was warned,
as he valued his life, to approach no nearer the shore. Nicuesa
continued his expostulations till nightfall, when he retired with his
ship a little farther from land. Returning next morning, he renewed his
importunities. A change had apparently taken place in the minds of the
people, for he was now permitted to land with his page. Balboa received
the governor courteously, conducted him to his house, and made him a
guest for the night. The affairs of the government were discussed, and
an amicable understanding was arrived at by the two leaders. It was
nothing less, in fact, than that one of them should be first, and the
other second, in Castilla del Oro. On the following day a portion of
the crew on board Nicuesa's ship was permitted to land; and Vasco Nuñez
now endeavored to reconcile his comrades to the rule of the governor.
It was too late. Sedition is more easily raised than allayed. Not only
was Zamudio jealous of his colleague, but he well knew that under the
proposed regime the odium of all the opposition would fall on him.
Drawing round him the rougher element, he reminded the colonists of
their oath, and pictured to them the poverty and restraint under the
proposed government. So successful was he in exciting bad blood, that
Nicuesa was glad to escape insult and violence by retiring to his ship.
Thus encouraged, Zamudio resolved to press a final issue by capturing
the governor, and dictating terms to him. The next day accordingly
he placed his men in ambush near the landing, and with one companion,
Pedro Macaz, appeared before the ship. Hailing the commander, he assured
him that all was well, and that he now might safely venture on shore.
Nicuesa fell easily into the trap. Joining the conspirators, he walked
unsuspiciously with them toward the spot where the gang lay concealed.
When near it Zamudio changed his tone to one of harsh insolence, "Señor
Nicuesa," he said, "why do you persist in remaining here contrary
to our wishes? Your presence is our ruin. We can neither accept you,
nor abandon this place. You must depart instantly, or die. Take your
choice." Meanwhile his minions sprang forward. Nicuesa saw it all at a
glance. He was fleet of foot, and this was his only hope. So flinging
off dignity, he eluded their clutches, dashed off at the top of his
speed along the shore, and outstripping his pursuers, turned into the
forest to hide.
When Vasco Nuñez saw the desperate plight to which Nicuesa was reduced,
all the generous impulses of his nature were aroused. He hated himself
for the part he had played, and cursed the sordid ambition which thus
unjustly humiliated so chivalrous a gentleman. More in earnest than
ever, he sought out Nicuesa in the wood; and then endeavored to excite
the sympathies of the colonists, and even to intimidate them; but all
was of no avail. Those there were who well knew they had gone too far
ever to be forgiven.
[Sidenote: SAD FATE OF NICUESA.]
Satan now wholly possessed Zamudio. No fiend could ever invent and
execute a more dastardly measure than was now proposed. With sixty men
he entered the forest, seized Nicuesa, and made him swear instantly to
sail for Spain, touching no port till he should reach Cádiz. Then, as
if in mockery, he took from him his only serviceable ship, placed him
into the old brigantine, now rotten and unsafe, which had been in use at
Veragua, and sent him forth with seventeen men and a few devoted members
of his household. It was in March, 1511, that the so lately proud and
gallant Nicuesa was thus driven from Antigua, and neither he nor any of
that ill-fated company was ever afterward heard from![VII-11]